This book will teach you how to photograph cars for Instagram

Worthy of framing and hanging on the wall, this new luxury title does vintage cars justice

Words: Harvey James

We’ve all been there. Wandering through a sunny city, with black cabs and boring sedans trundling down packed roads when, out of the corner of your eye, we spot a hidden gem down a side street.

It’s a vintage E-Type Jaguar, or a Mercedes 300SL with gull-wing doors — something so extraordinarily designed that it grabs you and won’t let go. There’s no double take, because you didn’t look away to begin with. Instead, you’re drawn off-path and down the road, to where it’s perched invitingly at the side of the road.

And, as if second nature, your phone comes out of your pocket and you’re snapping picture after picture before you know it. All sorts of angles, all sorts of shots, because this is a car worth the space on your camera roll.

@capturingthemachine; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

@huseyinerturk; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

@petrocamp; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

Then comes the inevitable Instagramming. It’s a social necessity. See something beautiful; share it with the world. The likes will trickle in — ten or twenty, with an enthusiastic bot throwing a couple of ‘amen’ emojis your way — but it’s hardly a reaction worthy of this beautiful machine in front of you.

@jameypricephoto; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

You need to up your car-gramming game, it seems. Enter Insta Grammar: Cars, a book dedicated to the art of showcasing deluxe automobile across social media.

Collated within this book’s large, luxury glossy pages, you will find the most popular classic car shots on Instagram, laid out alongside some caption inspiration. “Money may not buy happiness,” reads one such quote, “but I’d rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus”. They’re not wrong.

@camdenthraser; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

So scoop up your smartphone and take to the streets. There are beautiful classic cars out there just waiting to be shared with the world. And, even if you can’t find a retro Ferrari or Mark 1 Defender to shoot, this is a book that will inspire you to make even the blandest jalopy look Motor Show-ready.

@huseyinerturk; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

@huseyinerturk; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

@huseyinerturk; courtesy of Lannoo Publishers

So maybe your next photo will go viral, and you’ll land yourself a page in the next edition of Insta Grammar: Cars. Until then, however, explore this tome — and other titles in the collection, from City to Green, which all curate imagery from the seven-year-old social platform.